Funeral doom has always seemed to me to be split into two distinctly different camps. On the one hand, you have bands that are absolutely dark, desolate, and ominous with their sound, such as Evoken or Wormphlegm. And then, on the other, you have bands that prefer to take more of a relaxed approach, making things a bit brighter and epic in the process. Bands like Arcana Coelestia.

I seriously was not expecting to see this announced in the MS news today or anytime soon. The track they released sounds phenomenal and has pretty much stapled my expectations for this at a very high level

A second inedited track is now available with the interview the new singer had with WITHERED HANDS PODCAST! Here's the link http://witheredhandspodcast.wordpress.com/2014/05/31/episode-08-arcana-coelestia/

If the production on this was as dense as it was on Le Mirage De L'Ideal it would have been nearly as good. Unfortunately that combined with the less emotional feeling of the melodies (at least for me) make it a slightly underwhelming experience. It's a great album, just not quite up to the immense standards the debut and sophomore releases created for me. That being said, it is certainly in a different style (the 3:00 minute mark in Nomas II represents that quite well), much more uplifting than the previous, and a bit more accessible for newcomers to the band or even the style. Probably an 8.5 or so in terms of rating, as I do really enjoy it, had it not been an AC release it would have easily impressed me.